Photo Credit: Peter Su
Kerri Maher is also the author of This Is Not A Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World under the name Kerri Majors. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and founded YARN, an award-winning literary journal of short-form YA writing. For many years a professor of writing, she now writes full time and lives with her daughter in Massachusetts where apple picking and long walks in the woods are especially fine.
TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT FRIEND ― IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
1. Longevity. I realize this can take time to see. Someone you’ve recently bonded with might not be around in ten years even if you’re sure they will be right now. But look around you, and in your contact list. Who is still around but you haven’t seen in a while? Those friends are the real deal. Make a coffee date. It doesn’t matter how much time has passed since you last saw them.
2. You can travel together. Nothing challenges a friendship like long hours in a plane/train/automobile together, sharing a hotel room, and negotiating restaurants. But traveling together forms life-long memories, and also tests your ability to really be yourself with them. You do not have to go far away to do this!
3. You support each other unconditionally.
4. You can also challenge each other, and explain when the other person is wrong – but you’ll always do it with love, respect, and that baseline of unconditional support no matter what either of you decide. Think Carrie Bradshaw and Miranda Hobbes.
5. You make each other feel good. I told this to my daughter once when she was having girl drama: “Friends should make you feel good.” Coming away from a coffee or phone call with a friend is the intellectual and emotional equivalent of walking out of a spa.
2. You can travel together. Nothing challenges a friendship like long hours in a plane/train/automobile together, sharing a hotel room, and negotiating restaurants. But traveling together forms life-long memories, and also tests your ability to really be yourself with them. You do not have to go far away to do this!
3. You support each other unconditionally.
4. You can also challenge each other, and explain when the other person is wrong – but you’ll always do it with love, respect, and that baseline of unconditional support no matter what either of you decide. Think Carrie Bradshaw and Miranda Hobbes.
5. You make each other feel good. I told this to my daughter once when she was having girl drama: “Friends should make you feel good.” Coming away from a coffee or phone call with a friend is the intellectual and emotional equivalent of walking out of a spa.
6. We include. Never exclude.
7. We respect boundaries. You quit drinking? A friend won’t offer you wine with dinner, and may even have tea with you instead.
7. We respect boundaries. You quit drinking? A friend won’t offer you wine with dinner, and may even have tea with you instead.
8. We rescue each other when we’re feeling low. One of my favorite scenes in The Kennedy Debutante is when two of Kick’s friends cheer her up with cookies, hugs, and some newlywed advice when she is feeling really depressed.
9. They help you look forward and live your best life, and don’t dredge up past wrongs.
10. When we’re trying to do something that’s really hard—like write a book—we cheer each other on.
* This Tens List is dedicated to the amazing friends who helped me on my very long journey to this book, and to the friends who helped Kick to the amazing, brave work of following her heart.
London, 1938. The effervescent "It girl" of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy moves in rarified circles, rubbing satin-covered elbows with some of the 20th century's most powerful figures. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her strict mother, Rose, the antics of her older brothers, Jack and Joe, and the erratic behavior of her sister Rosemary, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire. But their love is forbidden, as Kick's devout Catholic family and Billy's staunchly Protestant one would never approve their match. When war breaks like a tidal wave across her world, Billy is ripped from her arms as the Kennedys are forced to return to the States. Kick gets work as a journalist and joins the Red Cross to get back to England, where she will have to decide where her true loyalties lie--with family or with love . .
Praise for THE KENNEDY DEBUTANTE
“This immersive, rich portrait of a complex young woman from one of the world’s most famous families will hold readers in thrall. ” —Publisher’s Weekly
“In Kick, Maher has created a likeable, occasionally naïve heroine who will intrigue readers who might be unfamiliar with this member of the Kennedy clan. While the book’s closing chapters will necessitate tissues, and readers familiar with Kick’s fate will find the ending bittersweet, this is an engrossing tale of the importance of family, faith, and love in the life of one remarkable woman.” —Booklist
“Maher paints an immersive picture of America and London during wartime, full of remarkably vivid details…. Kick emerges as an immensely likable character, and casual readers and history buffs alike will love getting to know her. Her headstrong, lively personality propels the book forward…. Maher shows the true cost of war, both for those fighting and those left behind. A romantic and heartbreaking look at an often forgotten American figure.” —Kirkus
““In Maher’s masterful portrait, Kick Kennedy is a bold young woman living at a precarious moment in history, eager to make her mark on the world as fearlessly as she will follow her heart.” —Julia Glass, author A House Among the Trees and the National Book Award–winning Three Junes
“Kerri Maher has crafted a compelling, insightful look into the complexities of the Kennedy era and one of its most fascinating daughters. Expertly researched, this is a remarkable debut.” —Susan Meissner, bestselling author of As Bright as Heaven
You can purchase The Kennedy Debutante at the following Retailers:
And now, The Giveaways.
Thank you KERI MAHER for making this giveaway possible.
1 Winner will receive a Copy of The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher.
People were always quite praiseful of Kick and her effervescent personality!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance!
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